National lab shows the public what it's got

An online database open to the public lists opportunities to license Sandia National Laboratories' intellectual property.

The Intellectual Property Available for Licensing site (iPAL at (ipal.sandia.gov) showcases Sandia technologies that may not be fully utilized in the commercial marketplace.

"iPAL highlights some of the interesting technologies Sandia has that many people outside of the lab have never heard of," says Kevin McMahon, manager of Licensing and Intellectual Property at Sandia.

The Web-based system lets users search through available intellectual property and get in touch with appropriate people at Sandia to negotiate a license. The lab will work with interested companies to execute mutually beneficial licensing agreements, according to lab officials. If a posted technology does not generate any interest after a period of time, a decision could be made to drop it from Sandia's portfolio.